


light me up

by orphan_account



Category: NCT (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Superheroes/Superpowers, Just Angel Things, M/M, and kun being lovely, and some fire things, ft some annoying villains, most of this is just ten being dumb
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-01-12
Updated: 2019-01-12
Packaged: 2019-10-09 02:27:22
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,219
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17398250
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: Growing up, the one thing Ten wanted to be was a superhero. Sleepless nights spent beating the asses of criminals, a rush of endorphins as he defeated each and every one. He figured his name would be Dynamite, petite and explosive, endearingly lethal. He’d live two lives too; one centered around fighting crime, the other devoted to building a homey life with the spouse of his dreams. And a dog. Lots of dogs.Ten wished every night, on every star, to be a superhero.They didn’t listen.(Or, Ten spends most of his life dreaming of being a superhero, and by luck, his wish is granted. Chaos ensues.)





	light me up

**Author's Note:**

> sorry this is bad, there's no consistent plot!!! just ten!! being dumb!!! and kun being wonderful!!! and renjun being renjun!!!!

Growing up, the one thing Ten wanted to be was a superhero. Sleepless nights spent beating the asses of criminals, a rush of endorphins as he defeated each and every one. He figured his name would be Dynamite, petite and explosive, endearingly lethal. He’d live two lives too; one centered around fighting crime, the other devoted to building a homey life with the spouse of his dreams. And a dog. Lots of dogs.

Ten wished every night, on every star, to be a superhero.

They didn’t listen.

Instead, Ten is sat at the headquarters of the Miracle League, the superhero organization for the area, tracking the movements of Seraph and offering directions through a headset.

Because Ten is not a superhero. He has no powers, no suit, no mask. He is the assistant to the most revered superhero in the world, working fourteen hour shifts just to keep him safe.

“Oculus just turned onto Main. You can intercept him if you go down Grave Street,” Ten rushes out as the dots on his map dart around.

Seraph doesn’t respond but turns onto Grave nonetheless. “I think I see him,” He crackles out after a moment of silence.

Ten sits up. “Yeah? As soon as you turn the corner make sure to flash your light. It’ll blind his eyes.” One of Seraph’s powers was the ability to emit light from every part of his body. Oculus was known to make eyes appear from every part of himself, giving him the ability to see from virtually all sides.

Ten sits in tense silence, the only noises coming from the devices splayed across his lab. He hated this part of missions. Seraph’s earpiece always managed to skid into the street during combat, forcing Ten to wait for updates.

Finally, after fifteen anxious minutes, Ten hears a distant, “Fuck! Fine just take me! Just turn those fucking lights off!”

He leans back in his desk chair, heart rate slowed down. It was nothing like being a superhero, but it was good enough.

*

About half an hour later, Kun drags himself into Ten’s lab, white suit gray with dirt and dust. His hair is plastered to his forehead, gold mask bundled in his hands. Ten still thinks he looks nice. He always looks nice.

Ten turns back to the log on his laptop, resuming his input of details from the mission. His cheeks burn.

He can hear Kun shimmying out of the spandex suit from behind him. “Are my spare clothes still in here?”

“Yep.”

“God, Oculus is such a… a…”

“Asshole?” Ten supplies. Kun was never very good with curses.

“Ten, you know I hate words like that,” Kun admonishes. Ten can almost hear his pout. “I’m decent, by the way. You can turn around.”

Ten swivels immediately and Kun is now dressed in a sweatshirt and jeans. “You know, just because your superhero name means angel, doesn’t mean you have to act like one.”

Kun paces around the lab, opening cabinets. “Yeah, but it’s the principle, ya know? I want to set a good example.”

Ten turns back around and finishes up the log. “What did the world ever do without you?” He gathers his folders and slides them into his backpack.

Kun has moved from prying cabinets open to pulling out every drawer. “Dude, what are you looking for?”

Kun lifts a single bare foot. “My shoes got stuck in like tar, or something? I don’t have any to wear home.”

“You can check the design lab…” Ten catches sight of the time on his watch. It was three in the morning. “... But they’re probably closed.”

Kun pouts, again, and Ten’s heart bleeds a little bit. He sighs. “You haven’t moved apartments, have you?”  
*

If Ten goes to sleep at four in the morning, back burning from the piggyback ride he gave Kun the entire four blocks and three flights of stairs to his apartment, then no one really needed to know.

*  
Mark eventually shuffles into Ten’s room at noon, kicking his bed. “Ten, get up. Renjun’s here.”

Ten yanks the sheets over his head. He hates college students. “Tell him to fuck off.”

Mark kicks the bed, harder this time. “He said that you promised to get him an internship this summer at the league. He brought his resume over.”

Ten huffs and sits up. Mark looks like a blurry image without the aid of his glasses. “I’ll be out in five.”

After finding his glasses and brushing his teeth, Ten slouches into the living room to see Renjun all done up in a sweater vest and slacks.

Ten giggles and flops onto the couch. “What’s the occasion? You look like a prepubescent asshat.”

Renjun sneers and adjusts his sweater. “How does Kun even deal with your foul language?”

Ten shrugs. “He doesn’t. But I’m the only assistant that doesn’t leave his four A.M. rants on read so it’s not like he’ll replace me.”

Renjun rolls his eyes. “Anyway, I’ve brought my resume. Hopefully it’ll help me secure an internship at the league.” He hands Ten a pale blue sheet of paper, ink apparently fresh. Ten lifts it to his nose.

“Is this scented?”

Renjun shrugs. “All of my classmates want an internship at the design lab. I have to be proactive.”

Ten places it on the coffee table next to an empty bottle of Vitamin Water. “I’ll be sure it makes it to the right people.”  
Renjun nods and stands. “Tell Kun that I’m glad his mission went well. Oculus knocked my first semester project over last year while I was walking to class.”

“You know, I contributed to the mission too. It wasn’t all your cousin.”

Renjun laughs. “There’s no way I can take your job seriously. You draw fan art of Kun, for Christ’s sake.”

Mark barks out a laugh from the kitchen. Ten would deal with him later. “I draw fan art of Seraph, not Kun.”

Renjun heaves his bag over his shoulder. “Whatever. Turn in my resume and tell Lucas to call me, yeah?”

For some reason, the uptight art student had taken a liking to the head trainer at the league. Lucas was bright, but oblivious to all of Renjun’s efforts. Ten thought it was cute though.

“All right, all right, I got it kiddo. Go to your lectures.”

Renjun leaves and Mark slithers out of the kitchen. Ten can’t catch a break.

“So fan art, huh?”

Ten groans. He wishes he hadn’t shown Renjun his art account with forty thousand followers. It would’ve saved him so many wrinkles.

“Hey,” Mark says, serious this time. “When are you going to tell Kun that you’re in love with him?”

Ten isn’t even surprised that Mark knows. He isn’t exactly subtle at keeping his feelings a secret. But Ten can’t tell Kun. He’s too busy putting his life on the line every night just to keep people like him safe. Why would he want to date the guy behind the headset, the one who still hasn’t given up on his dream of being a superhero himself?

Ten ruffles Mark’s hair. “I’ll get over it,” Ten sighs. “I’ll get over it.”

*

Kun slides his phone over to Ten as he tugs on his mask. “Have you seen this fan art? This person’s artwork is so impressive!”

Ten peers over at the screen and nearly yells. It was a drawing of Seraph that he had posted about an hour ago. It already have twenty-thousand retweets and a hundred thousand likes. The image cast Seraph in a halo of light, white spandex suit glittering. He’d dramatized Kun’s hair so it flew back into the glow.

Ten tries hard not to blush.

“You keep up with fan stuff?” Ten mumbles, playing with his piercings.

Kun nods from behind his mask. “I’m getting my masters in music education, Ten. I appreciate all art.”

Of course Kun would say something like that.

Kun adjusts his hair a bit and turns to Ten. “How do I look?”

Ten glances at him briefly then down to his nails. “Ready for a press conference, I guess.”

Kun places a gentle hand on his shoulder. “Is everything okay? You seem kind of worried.”

Ten is worried. Every since Kun had turned Oculus over to the authorities, his league had been sending threats of all kinds to Ten’s lab. Some of them were so violent that Ten had to file them into a drawer immediately.

He tells Kun this but the superhero just shrugs. “I’ll be fine. They’re a bunch of wimps compared to me anyway.”

Ten tries to laugh but the feeling isn’t there. Kun notices and takes his mask off. His kind face is twisted into a frown, wrinkles marring his angelic face.

He pulls Ten into a hug. Ten’s cheeks burn. “I’ll be fine, I promise,” He whispers. “Okay?”

Ten wraps his arms around his waist. “Okay.”

 

 

The press conference is held downstairs in the briefing room and Kun goes through his speech without trouble. Ten watches on, anxiety slowly fading away.

And then the first shot of electricity is fired through the window, and Kun collapses into a heap.

Ten doesn’t quite remember how he reacted, just that the adrenaline sparked his veins in a way that it hadn’t previously. Somehow he makes it outside, onto the street, eyes tracing the electric currents. He can feel them, taste them, hear them, see them, floating in the air. He moves on memory alone, legs carrying him as fast as they can. He weaves through streets, back alleys, and market fronts, lungs never giving out.

He doesn’t stop until he tackles the source of electricity, until he hears at least one bone break. He rolls onto the pavement, a crowd of spectators gathering. Ten hardly registers his surroundings until he hears,

“Holy shit. Is that fire coming off of him?”

*

“Jun, I’m afraid to touch him. What if he like, blows me up?”

“Jaemin, you’re the pre-med student. We can’t send him to a hospital, there’s cameras crawling everywhere since Kun was admitted.”

Ten cracks an eye open at the mention of Kun, body sore from head to toe. He’s in his room, laid out on his bed, Renjun and Jaemin peering over him. Renjun collapses on top of him in a hug.

“Are you feeling okay?” Renjun rushes out against Ten’s chest.

Ten shoves him off, unable to breathe. “I’m fine, dumbass.”

Renjun peels himself off as Jaemin opens a first aid kit. Ten notices the absence of a few people.

Renjun must be able to sense his confusion. “They’re all at the hospital with Kun. Doctors said a lot of his superhero cells were like, fried. His healing time will be slower because of that.”

Ten shuts his eyes as the information sinks in. He knew Kun shouldn’t have gone to that press conference.

“Hey, stop it. Kun wouldn’t want you to blame yourself. He’s a grown man, Ten,” Renjun points out. He sits on the edge of the bed as Jaemin dabs at the scrapes on Ten’s arms. “Besides, you literally caught Ionic. No superhero in our city has been able to catch Ionic.”

Memories of chasing a blue current of electricity hazes into Ten’s memory. He hardly remembers anything. One second Kun was unconscious, the next second Ten was rolling on the pavement.

Renjun frowns. “You don’t remember?”

Ten shakes his head and Renjun pulls out his phone. A video is already loaded onto the screen. Ten appears sprinting through the streets of downtown, fire building on every part of his body. Smoke follows his path as he incinerates everything he touches. The video concludes with him smothering Ionic until he passes out, clothes tattered.

He has powers. There’s fire in his veins. He had caught one of the most infamous villains, by himself. All in one day.

Ten pushes Jaemin away from his leg. “Holy shit.”

Renjun smiles. “You’re totally badass, Ten. Everyone’s either calling you Inferno, Combustion, or Lucifer. I personally prefer Lucifer.”

At the mention of superhero names, Ten suddenly remembers a certain Seraph in the hospital. “Am I able to visit Kun?”

Renjun has a look of regret in his eyes. “Doyoung said the only two places you’re allowed to go are the league headquarters and here.” He glances at his phone. “And he wants you in his office in an hour.”

*

Doyoung is a retired superhero, a former shapeshifter that decided to pocket his mask after college. He took over as director of recruitment for the Miracle League, in charge of scouting all youths with powers.

Ten had always thought he was a bit uptight with his starched button-down shirts and creased slacks. He even lived in the suburbs with his wife and pet snake. Ten constantly had to remind himself that Doyoung could shift into anything, even a freaking aardvark, in order to respect him.

Doyoung is perched on the edge of the desk, legs dangling off the corner. Ten figures that he wants to appear nonchalant but he just looks… on edge.

“Why didn’t you tell me you have powers?”

Ten fights the urge to scoff. “If I had known myself, I would have told you. Obviously I didn’t, idiot.”

Doyoung laughs shortly and smooths his coif. “You’re hilarious. Really, a fucking riot.”

Ten is kind of annoyed. Doyoung had always annoyed him, but the added stress of the day just seems to intensify the insufferability of him.

“Do you want to recruit me or something?”

Doyoung sobers, clasps his hands together, and paces to the window. “Yes, Miracle League would like to recruit you. You have a remarkable power and you caught Ionic today. We need talent like yours.”

Hearing a compliment from Doyoung directed towards him sounds like a foreign language to Ten. Just last week he’d told him that he hoped Ten’s piercings got caught in a loose sweater.

“... Cool. Will my pay be better?” Apartments located in the downtown area are expensive, especially when you have a stingy roommate.

Doyoung closes his eyes and breathes deeply. Ten notices an untouched stress ball in the pocket of his slacks. He’s still in the clear.

“Just go see Lucas to schedule your training sessions. You give me headaches.”

 

“Ten!” Lucas greets as soon as he sees him. He bounds over and lifts him into a hug. Lucas was always friendly and approachable. He loves people.

“Hey dude,” Ten says as he looks around the empty gym, now placed firmly back on solid ground. “Where are the other trainers?”

“Johnny and Taeil are at the hospital visiting Kun. The rest took the day off. Said they couldn’t deal with the stress from the attack,” Lucas says.

It seems like everyone’s been able to visit Kun except Ten. Kun’s literal right-hand man.

Lucas lays a hand on Ten’s shoulder. “Hey, are you alright? The attack, your powers, Ionic… all in one day…” He trails off, big endearing eyes widening.

Ten smiles but he can feel the anxiety and stress building under his skin. Thankfully, he hasn’t caught on fire yet.

“I’m good, Cas. Don’t worry.”

“Ten.”

Lucas has a serious expression on now and Ten knows there’s no use in hiding his stress from him. He can’t.

“I have powers and I don’t know how to summon them, or use them, or where they fucking came from. And the league just recruited me and there’s too much going on at once and all of this had to fucking happen on the same day the person I probably love was damn near killed and I hate it!” The words come out in a jumble and Ten blinks back hot tears. Lucas says nothing and just rubs his back.

Lucas asks gently, “Do you want to be a superhero?”

It’s embarrassing that the first answer to reach his mouth is no, when he had asked for this his entire life. But he never wanted it this way. Never in some sick combo; the person you’re pining for nearly dies and then your powers can be revealed!

“It’s okay to not want to be a superhero, Ten. Almost no one does. Kun hid his powers for a year after they were revealed.” Lucas laughs remembering. “Everyone at our high school just thought he was so handsome, he had a natural glow.”

Ten giggles, tears momentarily forgotten. “How did he explain the flying?”

“Said he was light on his feet.” The two burst out laughing.

“But seriously,” Lucas starts again, “Go see, Kun. We can settle all this training stuff another day.”

Ten doesn’t hesitate in moving towards the door.

*

Ten barely makes it through the entrance of the hospital when two masked figures pull him into an empty bathroom. He’s shoved onto the tiled floor, eyes adjusting to his new surroundings.

The two wear identical masks, both grey and starry. Ten sighs. Oculus just never seems to run out of goons.

“What do you want, Gemini?” Ten asks and the two figures merge into one. They sit on the closed toilet seat, legs crossed. Distantly, Ten is reminded of Doyoung.

“So, it’s been confirmed you have powers, yes?”

Back at it again with the fucking powers. “Do you want to find out?” Ten bluffs. He has no idea how to access his powers outside of a high stress situation and Gemini is far from intimidating.

“God, no. The Classical League would like to recruit you. My director sent me himself to deliver this important message.”

Ten stands and dusts his sweats off. “I have no interest in distributing drugs across the globe and contributing to epidemics. Your league is an illness in this world.”

Gemini looks almost offended behind their mask but recovers. “Fine. Just know that Oculus and Ionic have already escaped authorities,” They reach for the door handle. “Perhaps you should’ve thought about the phrase ‘If you can’t beat them, join them.’ We definitely aren’t finished with Seraph, and you’ve just been added to the list.”

The door closes and Ten stands in shock, heating sizzling in his veins, the drip drop from the faucet the only thing he hears. He yanks his phone out and,

“Doyoung, you and the other directors need to call an emergency meeting. Kun is in danger.”

*

Ten looks around the round table, met with the faces of superheroes he’d heard of but never met. Silicon (Jeno) passes out little cups of coffee to the group. Siren (Donghyuck) drums his fingers nervously on the wooden table, eyes frantic. Lightning, Forte, and Vanish (Jaehyun, Winwin, and Jungwoo), glance at Ten every so often, pity flashing in their eyes.

Yuta, the head of the entire league, stands facing the group, expression grim. “Gemini was telling the truth. Oculus and Ionic have escaped.” Ten squeezes his eyes shut, trying to force whatever shitty luck he’s acquired to go away.

“How?” Jeno asks. “They were both in maximum security prisons.”

“They also had help. They were aided by members of their league and fellow prisoners. They were gone before the guards knew anything was off.”

Winwin speaks up. “Well is Kun safe? Right now, I mean.”

Ten looks at Yuta expectantly.

“Yes, he’s safe. They’ve set up the proper medical equipment in his apartment. We have Doyoung and Taeyong stationed there as lookouts.”

A weight lifts from his chest.

“In the meantime, we need all of you to catch Oculus and his dumbass friends,” Yuta says. “It’s late now, so we’ll officially assign the mission in the morning. Get some rest, okay? We’ll catch these bastards.”

*

Ten drags his feet to the front door of Kun’s apartment, backpack filled with fireproof suit and mask weighing on him.

Doyoung and Taeyong are both drinking beers when he approaches, faces wrought with exhaustion.

“Kun’s been asking for you,” Taeyong says as he crushes one can and grabs another from the pack. “Says he’s worried.”

Ten nods and pushes open the door. He’s met with the image of Kun in pajamas, cartoon angels dotting the outfit. He’s laid on the couch, IV attached to his arm, television broadcasting the news. He brightens when he sees Ten.

The wheels of the IV make a funny vroom sound when they drag across the hardwood floors. The two stare at each other for a moment, too much to say. Ten thinks Kun looks different when he’s weak, ashen complexion a change from his usual golden glow. Yet, strangely, he still shimmers.

“You look kind of pale,” is what Ten says to break the silence and Kun yanks him into his arms, squeezing the life out of him.

“You absolute fucking dumbass,” Kun says. “Do you know how worried I’ve been? Do you know how dangerous Ionic is? You could have died.”

Ten wraps his arms all the way around Kun, head nestled in the crook of his neck. He smells like the stupid wax cubes he always buys from Target. And calm. He smells like home.

Kun pulls back but still holds onto Ten. “Ten, I can never, ever lose you. You realize this, right?”  
Something catches in Ten’s throat and he looks somewhere behind Kun. Because Kun feels these things in a different way, a safer way. The better way, Ten thinks.

“Yeah, I know. Bros for life, and all that.” It stings on his tongue but it comes out easier than anything else.

Kun is unrelenting though. “No, I just…” He pauses. Then, “I love you.”

The words should feel refreshing in Ten’s ears, relieving, but he is burdened by the fact that Kun will never love him the way he loves him. Kun deserves someone more than an accidental superhero and smartass. He deserves someone just as good as he is, not a man with fire under his skin that he can’t even control.

“I mean, I’d hope you love me. We are, like, best friends and everything.”

Kun flinches and Ten ignores the flash of hurt on his face. He steps back, free from his grasp.

“Why are you.. I thought… Ten, you know that’s not what I meant.” Kun reaches for his arm but his nerves are on fire, repressed stress, anger, and heartache rising to the surface. He retracts his hand, cradling his fingertips. “Did you just burn me?”

That’s all it takes for Ten to finally leave, self-loathing and smoke following him all the way home.

*

Winwin and Ten crouch behind a parked van, earpieces crackling with noise. Jungwoo and Jaehyun are hardly noticeable at the billboard across the street, blips in the distance. Donghyuck and Jeno are blocks away on the roof of headquarters.

The league monitored phone calls and messages all night, mapping out the plans of Oculus and his dumbass friends. They planned to fuck shit up at headquarters first, so all six heroes are at their respective lookout positions, waiting.

Winwin places a hand on Ten’s back. “Dude, can you like, stop shaking? You’re making me nervous.”

He nods and stops bouncing his knee, but the nervous energy is still there. “It’s just, you know, my first mission… I still can’t believe I have powers. Everything has been moving so fast.”  
Winwin’s expression transitions from annoyed to sympathetic. “It’s okay. I get it. The same day I got my powers, I was asked to catch a bombing suspect. I was fifteen.” Ten relaxes at that. He supposes some people had it infinitely harder than him. “Don’t worry about not knowing how to control your powers. They’ll come to you in the moment. Besides, you have a reason to catch these crooks, right? You and Kun are like, a thing.”

Ten blinks.

Winwin cringes. “What did you do?”

Ten rolls his eyes, offended. “Why do you assume I did anything?”

“Because Kun has had a crush on you for two years.”

Ten sits down fully on the sidewalk, disbelief obvious on his face. Kun’s pained expression flashes behind his eyelids and his stomach drops.

“Did he tell you that?”

Winwin laughs. “He told everyone. We couldn’t get through one meeting without him talking about you.”

Jungwoo’s voice crackles in their earpieces. “Annoyed the fuck out of everyone.”

“I thought it was cute,” Jeno says.

“I think all of you should shut the fuck up. Ionic is pimp-walking his way down Main right now,” Donghyuck says and all attention is focused on Yuta’s voice in their ears.

“Forte, Dynamite, you’re on Main, correct?” Yuta says.

“Who’s Dynamite?” Ten asks. Winwin jabs a finger at his chest. “Me? Oh, cool.”

“Yeah, we’re on Main,” Winwin replies. He pops his head up from behind the van. “I see him.”

Winwin flips the van abruptly and launches it towards the villain. Ten looks on, mouth agape. Chaos roars from their earpieces as the other heroes intercept Oculus and Gemini.

Winwin turns to him, chest heaving. “Take your earpiece out. It’ll get messy from here.”

Ten yanks the tiny piece of technology from his ear and crosses the street. There’s white noise in his brain, body tingling with heat. His eyes focus in on Ionic’s silver cloak as they observe the overturned vehicle launched at them. All of their attention is focused on Forte.

“Forte, you missed. Thought you’d have better aim.” They shrug and Ten creeps behind them, inching closer. “Guess that’s why Seraph is the face of the league. Or should I say, Kun?”

The heat that had been bubbling in Ten’s veins changes into fire dancing atop his skin at the mention of Kun. The flames lick the air around him, smoke forming a cloud.

He pounces on Ionic, summoning huge flames from his palms. Ten’s hands grab at his neck suffocating any bolts of electricity running through his veins.

“Oh, it’s you again. You don’t like when I mention Kun?” They raise an innocent brow behind their mask, and if it’s possibly for Ten to be any angrier, he’s pretty sure fire would shoot from his eyes.

Ionic manages to kick Ten off and send him skidding down the sidewalk. “You know, I hate Seraph. He’s always in my business, acting like he’s perfect. All I want to do is make money, you know?”

“Shut up,” Winwin says and pries a fire hydrant from the ground. He lobs it Ionic’s head and they fall.

Ten sprints and eyes the burn scars on Ionic from minutes before. They aren’t healing as fast as they should. They’re getting weak.

He approaches them slowly and pins their arms behind their back. “If you just want to make money, then stop killing people. Duh.”

“You think I’ll be in prison for long?” Ionic asks, sarcasm evident. Their head hangs as Ten hoists them to their feet.

“Yeah, dumbfuck. A long, long time.”

*

Yuta clasps Ten’s shoulder. “Nice job, Ten. I’m really proud of the way you handled yourself out there.”

They’re in Yuta’s office the day after the mission. Ten had no problem hopping off his adrenaline high and promptly dropped down into sadness. He still can’t shake the thought that Kun liked him and everyone knew but him.

“Thank you.”

“Since, you’ve joined the league as a hero, we’re giving you an assistant of your own.”

Ten raises a brow. “Who?”

Yuta scrunches his eyebrows, trying to remember. “This kid named Renjun? He wanted to be placed in the design lab, but we saw that you two know each other. We figured that’d work out better.”

Ten can already picture Renjun’s face pinched in anger. “Yeah. I think that’d work out fine.”

Yuta continues to talk about Ten’s change in positions, and he blocks out the words, training schedules and press conferences lost on his brain. Kun blinks back at him in his memory.

“Hey, Yuta?”

“Yeah?”

Ten grabs his bag and stands. “There’s somewhere I really need to be right now. Sorry.”

 

 

After finally convincing Kun to open the damn door, Ten stands in the entrance of his apartment, covered in sweat. He ran all the way over.

“Kun-” He starts.

“Do you know how I humiliated I felt the other night?” Kun’s wearing jeans and a t-shirt now, IV no longer in his arm. The anger in his voice is palpable.

  
“I know, I just-”

Kun doesn’t bother to listen. “I have spent two years of my life pining after you, like a high school student. I thought you liked me back too. And then while I was trying to fucking confess, you act all obtuse and dumb! But now I feel like the idiot-”

“Kun-”

“-when my feelings are completely valid! Who wouldn’t have a crush on you, you’re super smart, and hot, and cool, and like nice? You piss me off so much, like goddamn, have a flaw or something! And -”

“Kun, please shut up.” Ten forces out, trying to keep his voice level. His head was spinning at the words tumbling from Kun’s mouth.

Kun crosses his arms. “Fine. Talk.”

“Do you know who runs that fanart account? Seraphlight101?”

Kun scoffs and tilts his head. “Why would I know that?”

Ten points to himself, hand shaking. “It’s me. That’s my account.”

Kun’s eyes widen. “But… why…?”

“I like you. Wait no,” He searches for the words. “I love you.” Kun opens his mouth to speak but Ten beats him to it. “You have to understand how stressful this week has been for me. I’m a superhero now, people know my face, and you were attacked. My head was all fucked. I couldn’t comprehend anything, let alone a confession.”

Kun observes him for a moment, skepticism slowly fading away. “I’m sorry. I should’ve waited until everything settled down.”

Ten steps closer, takes Kun’s hands in his own. “It’s okay. Really. I’m just glad you actually have an interest in me.”

Kun pulls him closer and Ten rests his forehead on his shoulder. “I saw footage of your fight with Ionic. Both of them. You’re kinda badass.”

Ten laughs and pulls back to study his face. Light filters out of Kun’s pores, casting a glow around him. “I thought you hated words like that.”

Kun shrugs. “You’re a bad influence on me. I’m starting to give into vices.”

Ten laughs again. “Vices,” He repeats. “Course you’d use a word like that.”

Kun pouts at the teasing and Ten kisses it away. When they stand close like this, the light looks like it’s coming from both of them.

 

 

“One more dog. Please,” Ten begs. The streets are empty and quiet at night. He looks up and sees Kun shining atop a skyscraper across the way.

Kun sighs into his own earpiece. “Have you seen our house with two dogs? It’s a mess, Dynamite.”

Ten thinks their house looks fine. Sure, there’s a bit of dog hair here and there, and Kun’s sheet music sometimes gets ripped apart, but it’s not all bad. It’s homey.

“Don’t you want to adopt another deserving puppy?”

“I think I want to have this conversation when I’m not standing on top of a skyscraper.”

“I’m sad,” Ten sighs.

Kun hums, not really listening. “I can see the heist team moving from the bank. Love you, see you on the ground!” Then silence.

“Did he just end a very important relationship talk halfway through?” Ten asks Renjun.

Renjun cackles into the earpiece. “Just kick some ass, Dynamite.”

**Author's Note:**

> EDIT: I actually won't be posting anymore fics. I plan to be really busy in the upcoming months and it doesn't look like it'll slow down after that!! thank you reading this and any other of my works and please, please keep supporting nct and wayv!!


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